Season Preview: Candidate # 5

As part of our preseason content, we’re counting down the top candidates for this year’s Mr. Basketball award, presented annually to the top senior in the state. The fifth and final player on the list is our first player in a smaller classification as he plays in 3A, Seth Fuqua. Fuqua most definitely has the best statistics out of any active player in the state, all he needs now is a state championship. Will he have another incredible season or will teams finally figure him out?

Seth Fuqua could very well go down as one of the state’s best players in the terms of statistics when it is all said and done and if he duplicates the type of success that he has had over his incredible career this senior season he really has a good chance at being considered as one of the state’s best scorers of all time. To have a career average of 24 points a game starting with his freshman season and making an impact and putting Vanguard on the map is a remarkable feat. Not to mention the other ways that he is able to impact the game. Fuqua is a player that not only is benefitting from being in 3A as he goes out and truly competes with the best competition for the full summer. He is a standout player that can shoot lights out, score from within and is an above average ball handler and passer. For a player to be such a prolific scorer it has been interesting to see how growth as a point guard that has great vision and is a playmaker that gets it done in multiple ways. He rebounds well and so far, this year with the Coursers off to a 3-0 start has shown that he can also be one of the top facilitators if needed. Fuqua is a player that has grown immensely of making players around him better while also improving on his own overall game and this could possibly be the year that he pulls it all together and makes a deep run at a championship. If he is able to pull that off you have my vote for Mr. Basketball even coming out of 3A. He will surely be playing at the next level and is a player that you have to watch at least once before Senior season is up.

Odds he wins Mr. Basketball:

7%.

What hurts Fuqua most is simply being in 3A. Other than that, he has the stats to make a strong case for himself at Mr. Basketball and this will be another that he is amongst the top players in the entire state. Seth is a player that has somehow gotten better every year and that is tough to say about a player that averaged 25 points a game even as a freshman. Fuqua has been one of the most consistent scorers in the state and has managed to add pieces to his game that has transcended him into the player that he is now. The success of the Vanguard school this year and his ability to step up in big games will be crucial to how strong of a possibility he gets at being Mr. Basketball this year. Nonetheless, he has had an incredible year thus far and it has been a pleasure to follow him. This will be another great year for him I’m sure.